There have been many comments on this book, some thinking this is a great book; others don't believe in this theory at all.

The full title of this book is 'Enter The Zone' - a dietary road map to:
lose weight permanently, reset your genetic code, prevent disease, achieve
maximum physical performance and enhance mental productivity. The author
is Dr. Barry Sears Phd. Doctor Sears is a pioneer in biotechnology,
developing drug delivery systems for cancer and heart patients and holds 12
patents for cancer treatments and dietary control of hormonal responses.

The reader is obviously aware of the vast multitude of 'diet' books, by the
way, there is an absolute 'glut' of such material. I am not a worshiper
of the printed word. If you take the printed word as gospel, you may die
of a misprint! Keeping this attitude in mind, I ask you to listen to the
following with an open mind.

This book, THE ZONE, is the result of many years of research, application
and testing. At first it sounds too good to be true, a dietary program
that benefits overall health, improves athletic performance, mental
acuity, and strongly encourages healing in many serious illnesses. From
personal experience I suspect that these claims are, in fact, well founded.

Presently, the accepted dietary practice is that fat is bad; therefore eat
little fat. Companies spend many millions of dollars to come out with 'low
fat' or 'fat free' products! Carbohydrates are wonderful clean foods, eat
them in abundance. Protein practices vary with the program being
advocated. Some diets recommend large amounts of protein, while other
programs say low protein.

Depending on how and what you eat, and your level of physical activity,
you can either burn fat or not! This fat (that is burned) is both that fat
that you consume as food and/or available fat stores in your body. Fat is
a wonderful source of energy! Why not use it? How do you encourage the
body to enter the Fat Burning Zone all the time and in the process create
a favorable hormonal balance for robust health?

According to THE ZONE, the dietary program that does this consists of the
These come from a certain Zone: favorable foods not just anything! Let's
begin at the beginning: First, Dr. Sears says you must know your percent
of bodyfat. Using a tape measure, he shows you how to approximate your body fat
percentage; there are different procedures for men and women. Once you have
your percent bodyfat you must determine your level of activity using a physical
activity table in the
book. For example: a sedentary male of 150 pounds of lean body mass would
require 75 grams of complete protein a day. If he did 1 hour per day of
moderate exercise 5 days a week, he would require 120 grams per day. If
he did heavy weight training or twice a day intense exercise, he would
require 150 grams per day. In otherwords, lean body mass and level of
activity determine your protein requirements! Great protein sources are
lean poultry, all fish, egg whites, fat free cottage cheese, protein drinks, etc.
Dr. Sears calls portions "blocks" and
he has a great way of quickly understanding how much of a food you need
to eat and in what proportions. You can measure with scales, or Dr. Sears
gives an easy way to approximate portions quickly just by eyesight.

Next come your carbohydrate needs. All carbs are not created equal! I can
hear you say 'I know that, there are sugars and complex carbs like
starches'. Well, it is not that simple! Favorable carbs have a low
glycemic index, they enter the bloodstream slowly, raise blood sugar levels
slowly, and produce a moderate insulin response. High on the list of these
foods (glycemic index 30-50%) are: barley, oatmeal (slow-cooking),
whole-grain rye bread, apples, pears, grapes, peaches, kidney beans,
lentils, black eyed peas, lima beans, etc. Very undesirable are all the
boxed breakfast cereals, white bread, brown rice (yes), bananas, raisins,
ice cream (low fat), etc. Your portions will be equal (in terms of calories)
to that of your protein portions. Extensive tables of desirability and
portion sizes for carbohydrates are provided, they are easy to use. Simple
carbohydrates are an addiction, after a week or so on a Zone favorable
diet these carbo cravings will leave you! True story!

Next come fats: the best says Dr. Sears are high in monounsaturated fats
like: almond butter, olive oil, olives, avocado, tahini, peanuts, etc. Dr.
Sears loves olive oil. Very undesirable are butter, cream, cream cheese,
vegetable shortening, sour cream, egg yolks, fats from red meats, etc. I
can hear you saying 30% from fats! That isn't healthy! Not, necessarily
so; your overall caloric intake will not be high. And remember you are
seeking out certain fats. Personally I think olive oil is holy, holy stuff;
Olive Oil has been kept for 7 years without refrigeration in a cool dry
place without going rancid! Mediterranean diets use olive oil abundantly
along with garlic and moderate wine intake. The health of these people is
relatively good! Of course, the poorer people get lots of physical exercise,
A zone favorable diet is medium in carbs, medium in protein, and believe
or not low in overall fat intake!

Let's drop in to 'science class' for a minute. All the very popular high
carbohydrate diets cause a rapid rise in blood sugar. To prevent excessive
blood sugar levels, the body produces the hormone insulin, which acts to
store blood sugar in the muscle and liver in the form of glycogen and any
excess as body fat! The problem is that too much blood sugar is stored
away and the brain is deprived of adequate amounts of its only fuel,
glucose. So, because of low blood sugar, you begin to feel tired, moody,
blood sugar prevents the release of fat from the adipose tissue and forces
you to burn sugars (glucose) for energy. Excess carbs are converted to and
stored as fat, and if the diet is low in protein, this can cause loss of
lean body mass (LBM) which further lowers the metabolism. In this case you
are 'above the Zone'.

What happens if you are 'below the Zone'. A meal high in proteins and low
in carbs and fats will decrease the blood sugar. The lack of carbs will
also cause ketosis, which will inhibit the release of the fat-burning
hormone, glucagon. Ketosis also causes the loss of lean body mass and slows
the metabolism.

What happens 'in the Zone'. A meal with medium amounts of carbs, protein
and low in fats (a bagel with nonfat cream cheese and 2 oz sliced turkey)
will stabilize blood sugar. The appropriate ratio of carbo / protein / fat will
stimulate the release of glucagon, which will maintain your lean body mass,
increase overall metabolism, and allow the release and utilization of
stored body fat for energy allowing you to access your fat burning zone!

Admittedly, eating this way the first week can be difficult. First, you
have to be sure to take in your necessary protein requirement. Second, you
are not eating a lot of food, meals appear small. Give it time as your body
readjusts, especially if you are very active. By the first or second week,
you will begin to feel a sense of lightness and mental clarity that is most
welcome. I went from 190 pounds, 13% body fat to 183 pounds, 9% in a week and a
half! Keep in mind this is not typical, I have a high metabolism. That
was after a long time of being unable to 'lean down' on the conventional
high carbo diet with lots of aerobic activity. By the way, a Zone favorable
diet greatly improves oxygen transport at a cellular level; at which your
endurance start to improve. Please don't break any treadmills.

This book review is meant only as an introduction. THE ZONE is presently
only available in hard back. If you are happy with your energy level,
appearance and percent body fat right now: congratulations!! Really,
that's great. If you are eager to make improvements in strength (one rep
limit lifts), power (like vertical jumps), endurance (like aerobics) and
lean down your percent body fat then this book is must reading.

I welcome feedback from you the readers. I am eager to hear your
experiences and results with this program. The Zone can be used with the
seriously ill, overweight, healthy (who want more energy) and the serious
amateur and professional athletes! Good luck.